Next In Line

Chapter 18

‘I won’t be taking any calls for the rest of the morning, Angela,’ said the commander. ‘Only interrupt me if the building is on fire,’ he added before putting down the phone.

He looked around the table at his team. ‘Why don’t you open the batting, William?’

‘As you all know, sir,’ began William, ‘for the past ten days we’ve taken advantage of the fact that Superintendent Milner, DI Reynolds and Sergeant Jennings have been on the other side of the world with their principals.’

‘As opposed to their principles,’ interrupted the Hawk.

‘We’ve also been able to make good use of Constable Jenny Smart’s imminent departure from the unit,’ continued William. ‘Without her assistance, it could have taken us months to follow the paper trail.’

‘She must have felt some loyalty to the people she’d worked with for the past six years,’ said the commander. ‘Why was she willing to throw in her lot with a bunch of intruders she hardly knew?’

‘She agrees with the intruders that a bent copper is every bit as bad as any other criminal, if not worse,’ said Jackie. ‘And Milner, Reynolds and Jennings are among the worst I’ve ever come across. I was finally able to convince her that most of her colleagues would applaud the stand she’s taken.’

‘I have a feeling,’ said William, ‘that your winning the Queen’s Gallantry Medal couldn’t have come at a better time.’

‘She was certainly more cooperative after I returned to work,’ said Jackie.

‘What else did you discover while the cats were away, DS Roycroft?’ asked the Hawk, cutting to the chase.

‘I began by checking every PPO’s expenses for the past five years, when I came across claims I would never have thought possible.’

‘Give me an example.’

‘Milner spent three nights at the Ritz in Paris while on a recce for the Queen’s state visit next year. He was so blatant about it that he even took his wife and daughter with him, claiming the adjoining room was occupied by his secretary, who was at home in Potters Bar at the time. I must say,’ Jackie added, ‘when he dines out, he doesn’t start at the top of the list when selecting his wines.’

‘Do you have a ballpark figure for the three of them over the past five years, with all the accompanying receipts to back it up?’ demanded the Hawk.

‘£442,712,’ said Jackie, who had obviously anticipated the question.

‘Made up of?’

‘Mainly travel expenses, dinners, clothes allowance, and overtime, despite the fact that, as senior officers, they’re not entitled to claim it.’

‘Details?’

‘When the Royal Family go to Balmoral for their summer break, Milner spends most of his time on the grouse moors — I’m told he bagged more pheasants than the Duke of Edinburgh last year — while Reynolds prefers fishing on the Dee. Virtually their only duties are to accompany the Queen to the Highland Games. But when they return to London they put in claims for “unsocial hours” allowance as well as an “away from home” expenses, not to mention overtime.’

‘If I’m to instigate a full inquiry,’ said the Hawk, ‘how much wriggle room do they have? And as important, how much do you think you can make stick?’

‘About half,’ said Jackie. ‘But I’ve already gathered more than enough evidence to fill my wheelbarrow.’ She continued when the laughter had died down. ‘My favourite claim is for a Burberry raincoat and umbrella Milner bought in Bermuda during a heatwave. The receipt shows that the raincoat just happened to be a perfect fit for his wife.’

‘This can’t be allowed to get out,’ said the Hawk. ‘The press would have a field day.’

‘Reynolds and Jennings are every bit as bad,’ chipped in William. ‘But it was Milner who made sure they got away with it by never questioning their expense claims, which suggests they were acting in unison.’

‘What will their defence be?’ the commander said, almost to himself.

‘Milner will claim that the Prince of Wales knew exactly what he was doing, and approved of it. But I’m convinced HRH had no idea what they were getting up to in his name.’

‘Do you agree with that, Ross?’

‘I do, sir. Princess Diana has no way of knowing what claims I make on my expenses, and the subject has never arisen. Milner approves every one of my claims without checking them and, once he’s scribbled his initials on the bottom of the chit, the accounts department pays up without question. It’s a gravy train that has no red flags and doesn’t bother to stop at any station.’

‘It might also amuse you to know,’ said Jackie, ‘that during his years as head of Royalty Protection Milner has accumulated over a million airmiles in his own name. All legal and above board.’

‘He may end up having to live in mid-air once he realizes we’re on to him,’ said the commander. He paused for a moment before adding, ‘This evidence you’ve gathered, Jackie, is compelling to say the least. But if we’re going to bring down the head of Royalty Protection, I’ll need a damn sight more than that. So, Rebecca, it’s your turn to tell us what you’ve been up to for the past few months.’

‘Superintendent Milner never travels on public transport while he’s on duty,’ said Rebecca, ‘despite having an authorized travel card which entitles him to do so.’

‘He probably uses his own car and claims a petrol allowance,’ said the Hawk, playing devil’s advocate.

‘He never drives his own car. Always takes a taxi and puts it on expenses.’

‘Then the only person who benefits is the taxi driver, and no doubt Milner has the receipts to prove it.’

‘But why take a cab to Buckingham Palace or York House,’ asked Rebecca, ‘when both are within walking distance of his office in Buckingham Gate?’

‘He would claim he can’t risk being followed while carrying confidential documents,’ said the Hawk.

‘He also takes taxis to Windsor and back, which doesn’t come cheap, when he could take the train from Victoria, a few hundred yards from the office.’

This silenced the Hawk for a moment, which Rebecca took advantage of.

‘If you then check his expenses claims carefully,’ she said, opening a file and running a finger down some figures before continuing. ‘Last year alone, Milner made a hundred and seventy-one such taxi journeys at a cost to the taxpayer of just over £33,000.’

‘And if you dig a little deeper, as we did, with the help of Constable Smart,’ chipped in Paul, not needing to check the figures, ‘you’ll find that over the past eleven years, Superintendent Milner has claimed £434,720 on taxis alone, which I think even the BBC might describe as excessive.’

‘However,’ said Rebecca, ‘the truth is that Milner never takes a taxi when he’s on duty.’

‘You’d better be able to back up that statement with hard facts, DC Pankhurst,’ said the Hawk. ‘Otherwise it will be your word against his.’

‘I had a feeling you might say that, sir,’ said Rebecca, ‘so with DCI Warwick’s permission I took a week off my normal duties and went undercover.’

‘For what purpose?’

‘To follow a week in the life of our most senior royalty protection officer.’

William allowed himself a smile as Rebecca opened an even thicker file in front of her. ‘Every morning at around eight, eight fifteen, Milner leaves his home in Barnes and takes the train to Victoria using his police permit.’

‘As he’s entitled to do,’ said the Hawk.

‘On arrival at Victoria,’ continued Rebecca, unperturbed, ‘he then walks the half mile to Buckingham Gate. If he has an appointment with HRH, he walks across to York House, often accompanied by DI Reynolds, the Prince’s PPO. Once HRH leaves York House, Milner hot foots it back to Buckingham Gate. On two separate occasions during that week he took the train from Paddington to Windsor using his authorized travel card. On arrival, he walked from the station to the castle and disappeared into his office, not to be seen again until he left at around four thirty, when he took the train back to Barnes. During that week, he didn’t once take a taxi, but it didn’t stop him claiming £529 in expenses,’ said Rebecca, handing over fourteen expenses claims for the Hawk to consider. ‘They’re not only claiming expenses for journeys that never took place, but along with his cohorts, they’re coining in around quarter of a million a year, with no one else to check on them.’

The commander studied the claim dockets for some time before he said, ‘Excellent work, DC Pankhurst. But it’s still not enough. What else do you have to offer me?’

‘Nothing else, sir. However, the chief came up with something that needs explaining.’

Everyone around the table turned to face William.

‘I found this locked in the top drawer of Milner’s desk,’ said William, placing an expenses docket in front of the commander.

‘What does this prove?’ asked the Hawk, after carefully checking several expenses claims.

‘It’s not the claims Milner did make that we should be looking at,’ said William, ‘but the half-empty expenses book with his signature already on every page, only waiting for the details to be filled in. He’s like a man at the roulette table who knows which number the ball will land on. He’s perfected a system that always pays out, even when it lands on zero.’

‘Believe me,’ said the Hawk, ‘that man could still bluff his way out of that. No, I need a silver bullet that Milner won’t be able to put back in the chamber.’ The commander noticed a grin appearing on DS Adaja’s face. ‘You’ve been unusually silent, Paul. Can I assume you’re about to produce that bullet?’

‘And the gun to fire it with,’ said Paul. ‘However, you’re never going to believe what I’m about to tell you, sir, despite the fact that you’ve dealt with some of the sharpest criminal minds in the game.’

‘Stop wasting my time,’ said the Hawk.

‘For the past month, I’ve been taking a particular interest in a certain Sergeant Nigel Hicks.’

‘And what’s so special about Sergeant Hicks?’

‘He’s been the Royalty Protection forward liaison officer for the past eleven years.’

‘How fascinating,’ said the commander, stifling a yawn.

‘It would be, sir, if only Sergeant Hicks existed.’

The look on the Hawk’s face didn’t suggest that of a seasoned poker player. ‘Details,’ he demanded, sitting bolt upright in his chair.

‘Sergeant Hicks retired eleven years ago — and died a couple of years later. He was buried at his local church in Sevenoaks.’

‘You have proof, of course?’

Paul produced a photograph of Hicks’s headstone and handed it over to the commander.

‘You’re not going to tell me that—’

‘He still receives his full salary, and last year somehow managed to claim over £70,000 in expenses, without actually turning up at the office.’

‘But did they get away with it?’

‘It’s possible Hicks was involved,’ suggested William.

‘But he died.’

‘Not according to the record book.’

‘But surely someone—’ began the Hawk.

‘That’s the point, sir,’ came back William. ‘Milner, Jennings and Reynolds were all in on the scam, and were only too happy to take their cut. In fact, Hicks still has his own office in Windsor, with his name on the door.’

‘And how did Milner explain why no one else ever saw him?’

‘He was the forward liaison officer, sir, so he was always abroad, checking out venues on behalf of minor members of the Royal Family who were due to visit that country at some time in the future. He claimed travel expenses for cities he never visited, an accommodation allowance for hotels he never stayed in, as well as regular claims for unsocial hours and overtime. In fact, during the past eleven years, the phantom sergeant has been paid over £270,000 in wages, supplemented with another £700,000 in expenses. Not to mention claiming a million airmiles without ever getting on a plane.’

‘What happened to the tickets for those flights he never took?’

‘Some were cashed in, others were used whenever one of the three of them went on holiday. They’ve all visited some fairly exotic places during the past eleven years: Rio, Cape Town, Mexico, St Petersburg...’

‘How did you find out?’ barked the Hawk, barely able to control his temper.

‘I finally broke into the missing sergeant’s office, sir, only to discover that the cupboard was bare.’

‘The dog that didn’t bark in the night,’ said the commander. ‘Bravo, Paul. However, I still require icing on my cake before I report to the Commissioner. Tell me how they disposed of their ill-gotten gains, because it’s always how a criminal spends the money that catches them out in the end.’

‘Pull the trigger, Jackie,’ said William.

‘Once Paul and Rebecca had produced enough evidence to prove exactly what Milner was up to,’ said Jackie, ‘I took your advice and followed the money.’

‘And what did you come up with?’ asked the Hawk.

‘Milner does have a car, a Mercedes SI, latest model, which he paid for with cash, because there’s no sign of any entries other than his salary as a Superintendent, going into his bank account. So someone might be tempted to ask how he can possibly own a three-storey house on the common in Barnes, a country home in Berkshire with five acres, and a substantial property in Ibiza that could only be described as front line.’

An even longer silence followed before the Hawk said, ‘How did he get away with it for so long?’

‘That was the easy part,’ said William. ‘Because there was no one to question him until we turned up, and if Constable Jenny Smart hadn’t felt it was her duty to point Jackie in the right direction, it might have taken us years to nail him. But with her assistance,’ continued William, ‘the team have been able to gather enough evidence, along with Paul’s silver bullet to ensure that Milner will not be spending his retirement in Ibiza, but as a resident of Belmarsh prison at Her Majesty’s pleasure.’

‘A different form of royal protection,’ suggested Paul.

The commander smiled for the first time that morning. ‘Once you’ve handed in your report, DCI Warwick,’ he said, ‘I’ll brief the Commissioner so he has all the ammunition he needs when he has his audience with the Prince of Wales. Meanwhile, I congratulate you all on a job well done. But if it should blow up in our faces, I fear DS Adaja will have to carry the can.’

‘And if I’m proved right?’ asked Paul, after the laughter had died down.

‘I will personally sack Milner and his two partners in crime,’ said the Hawk, ‘take all the credit, promote DCI Warwick to Superintendent, and put him in charge of Royalty Protection, and will allow DS Adaja to keep reminding us all that he was the brains behind Operation Overcharge.’

The rest of the team rose and warmly applauded Paul, as the phone on the commander’s desk began to ring. The Hawk picked it up. ‘Angela, I said no calls unless the building is on fire.’

‘It’s Superintendent Milner on the line, sir. Says he needs to speak to you urgently.’

‘Tell him his pants are on fire,’ said the Hawk, before putting down the phone. He looked round at William. ‘I think he may have noticed his expense book is missing.’